A small Beatrix Potter drawstring bag ....

HI all, 

I seem to be in sewing mode at the moment. I am more of a craft sewer than a clothes sewer, even though I made most of my daughters early clothes when we lived in the cold mountains of Lesotho & warm tracksuits were the most practical attire. The ones I made were trendy with frills,  fronts with poppers, collars & even dresses in gorgeous fabrics that I sourced in Johannesburg. I studied the trends in magazines, made my own patterns & then ran up these original items. 

Little granddaughter has some new teething toys & I thought they needed a little bag to keep them in for when she is out & about with her Mum. 

A friend gifted me a gorgeous piece of Beatrix Potter fabric that she had added the iron on batting too. It was a small piece but I immediately thought of a cute drawstring bag. 

The size was determined by the fabric & I added pink fabric to the top to make the drawstring. 

This was the youTube tutorial I followed for the main lined bag, I added a drawstring channel to the top before stitching the top together & turning it through the lining gap & sewing that lastly. 

There was just a tiny bit of fabric left so I made a matching ribbon toy with that, adding in crinky fabric & a hand made carry strap for it. 

I am rather pleased with the pair of them & I hope the little one will enjoy using them too. 

What are  you busy with at the moment? Tell all. 

Thank you for stopping by, 

Dee 💕🧵🪡

Handmade with much love

I want to share some beautifully handmade gifts I recently received while in South Africa - handmade by my dear sister-in-law with great love so that they would be with us, in our constant thoughts, when we returned home to England.

She is an absolute whizz at patchwork & sewing; last year her & her Mom made my folks the most stunning quilt with all our names embroidered on it - so they 'can sleep close to us all' even when we are scattered all about the world!

Unfortunately my photo does not do it justice, Mom was very ill & I did not want to fuss around too much with it but it is a magnificent labour of love; Mom has an angel above her name ... now very appropriate ♥

On our recent visit, I received this gorgeous handmade cushion cover & I knew straight away where it was going ....

It is with scenes from the Karoo farmlands of South Africa & I just knew that I could have it on my Lloyd Loom chair at my desk in the bedroom. How well it looks there, a bit of Africa right by me ♥
The two girls - not really girls at 17 & 24 but you know what I mean - were gifted these gorgeous large handmade dolls & they have decided to keep them together in our spare room where they are not moved about each night. How well they look with the shabby chic French look there.

Oldest daughter has a thing about old keys so hers is just perfect & the angel holds the wishes of the younger one! Don't they just belong there?

Their handmade hearts hang on their bedroom doors - such perfectly thoughtful gifts ♥
And as if I wasn't spoilt enough, I received this final invaluable gift for a habitual tea drinker like myself - a splendid tea cosy ♥

It is absolutely perfect for my little teapot & it just goes so well with my shabby chic lifestyle. The monogrammed tea cup was a brilliant find by the daughters last Christmas & it is total indulgence to relax with such lovely things.

Thank you my dear Riekie ... these gifts are just so perfect; I just wish I had your talent!

Do you make such wonderful things?  Which are your favourite?

Have a great weekend, stop in again soon
Dee ♥